Time and time again, great thinkers like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have credited their success to mental models: simple representations of how the world works that can be applied in a wide array of contexts. Mastering a small number of these concepts enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others don’t, and better anticipate outcomes.

The Great Mental Models introduces the most powerful models that anyone can use right away to improve decision making and productivity. In this volume, Shane Parrish introduces the universal concepts that underpin better thinking, including:

• Occam’s Razor: When faced with competing hypotheses, the simplest explanation is often the best one.


• Circle of competence: We operate optimally in the territory we know best and the quality of our thinking decreases as we venture too far outside our areas of expertise.


• Inversion: To invert a problem is to think about it in reverse, and thereby work out what not to do in response.

Building a latticework of mental models is one of the most powerful things you can do to become a better thinker, leader, or creator. The Great Mental Models is the accessible guide you need to unlock this ability.